The Boy Behind the Fence
by BrunettesHaveMoreFun
Summary: Bella lived in the house behind Edward's when she was young. They were inseparable, bonding over their monkey bars. Then, Bella's parents divorce and she moves to Phoenix with her mom. What happens when Bella moves back in with her dad, 12yrs later? AH
1. Chapter 1

**T h e B o y B e h i n d T h e F e n c e**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. I'm just spitting this story out off the top of my head. I really wanted to just get it down. If you guys like it, I'll post longer chapters next and the 2nd chapter with probably be the last one in 3rd person POV. Then it'll be BPOV and EPOV, probably mostly BPOV. I hope you like it! It's a TON different than Warriors of Foggy Forks. It'll be nothing like that. I'll put humor in it, but not that crazy.**

Bella was five; Edward was six. The age difference didn't matter, not to them. What's in a year? They were the perfect two, one name rarely said without the other. Edward and Bella. Bella and Edward. Bellward, if you were really tired and wished to cut out the middle syllables all together.

Bella had big, brown eyes. They were the kind that sparkled even in the dark, dim, gloomy light cast from the moon when she and her Edward would lay in the backyard and watch stars, pretending they knew constellations in the sky that they had seen in their books. Edward loved her eyes. They held that childlike knowledge that barely any of us still hold on to. That knowledge that said there was nothing bad in the world except for monsters in the closet and that fickle thorn bush down the street. She had long, brown hair that was nearly always pinned away from her pale white forehead with her favorite deep blue bow. Her cheeks were tinted pink and every time she looked at Edward, she would giggle and they would turn even a deeper blushing shade. She knew she loved Edward. She knew the first time she saw him, sitting on top of her monkey bars.

Edward was playful. He wasn't aggressive and greedy like a lot of boys his age. He was a momma's boy and momma raised him right. Momma's boy he was, but Edward took after his dad, Carlisle, with his compassion and looks. Even at the tender age of seven, you could tell Edward would be a heartbreaker. He had bright, grassy green eyes with unruly reddish brown hair constantly falling into them. Edward, personally, didn't believe in haircuts. His mother, Esme, did. One way or another she would find him, branding a pair of scissors, and managed to distract him enough to at least trim the lion's mane on top of his head. Of course, afterwards he would sulk out to his backyard, climb on top of his monkey bars, and wait until Bella came out to sit on hers. Their swing sets were parallel to each other, right across the fence dividing their backyards. Edward loved Bella, more than his seven-year-old heart could handle sometimes. He loved that tiny girl, and, if he had to, he would wait on those monkey bars for hours on end. Wait for her.

Bella and Edward, as one could easily tell, were the best of friends. Ever since the Cullen's had moved into the house behind the Swan's in their little town of Forks, Washington they had simply clicked. Edward was just the new kid whom people tread lightly around, and Bella was just the shy little girl with a big smile for her new neighbor.

The first time they met, Edward had had an awful day. Since he was the new kid at school, the other kids had already had their groups of friends for a good while and Edward was not in their plans. Upset, after saying very few words at dinner, Edward ran out to his backyard and stared up at his big, red swing set. Edward had a nice sized yard. There was a big patio with a grill and dining area. Off to the side, there was a white stone area with a outdoor fireplace, a great place for roasting marshmallows with his parents. Edward liked it. It was big enough for adventuring, but small enough to feel like home.

The swing set was his favorite. Big and colored like a bright, shiny, red apple. It was set a few feet from the fence dividing his yard from the Swan's. He hadn't met them yet, but he heard they had a daughter a little younger than him. Edward silently prayed that she would be his friend. That's all he wanted, just one friend. He didn't have that...yet.

Climbing up the metal ladder, thinking about his terrible day, Edward tried the slide. Nothing. He still felt sad. He tried climbing up the slide. That was worse than going down. Now he had a burn from the offending yellow plastic where his knee rubbed against it too quickly. Maybe the rope ladder? Oh, God, that was the worst of them all. Now he had calluses. Sighing, Edward was about to give up. He looked up and saw the setting sun gleaming against the monkey bars. He thought it looked pretty. Well, if he was going to sulk he might as well do it while looking at something beautiful. He climbed up the ladder and saddled himself up on the rungs. He pumped his legs back and forth and looked at the orange sky. Yes, he was going to look at something beautiful. Unknown on his behalf, that something beautiful was silently climbing up her ladder, trying to get a better view of the strange new boy staring at the sky.

**This is just a sample to see if you guys like it. I have tons of ideas for this story! If I get AT LEAST ten reviews, I'll post up a chapter before the end of next week, I promise. Hope you liked it! Love, BrunettesHaveMoreFun**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two! Thanks for all my reviewers, you guys are awesome =] Enjoy!**

Bella was shy enough. She didn't have many friends, which was slightly odd. Usually for five year olds to become friends, all it took was, "I like your bow, wanna be my best friend?" Not for Bella, though. Rarely did she speak freely to her classmates. She really only had a couple good friends. Angela and Alice. They were in her kindergarten class and very sweet to her. Even at her young age, Bella knew that those two were really the only ones that would matter in the future out of her little class.

"Hi, Bella." Angela said quietly as she sat next to the brunette at the small, green table. Bella was beginning to color a picture of her house and family. That was the assignment they had been given. Bella wasn't the best artist so she stuck to basic shapes: triangles, circles, squares, and rectangles, maybe a cube if she wanted to get crafty.

"Hello Angela." Bella said, trying to sneakily put her arm over her paper. She knew Angela had a knack for drawing and thought she would make fun of her for her splash of shapes that were supposed to be a house and three humans.

"Can I see your drawing?" Asked Angela.

"No."

Angela looked slightly hurt.

"But…why not, Bella?"

"Um…it's not pretty yet?"

"Oh," Angela said, even quieter than before. "That's okay then. My drawing is okay, but not as pretty as I wanted it. Miss Laney said it was, though, but I think she's full of bologna. I'm not quite sure what that means, 'cause I saw her eatin' soup for lunch, not bologna, but my daddy says that to me all the time and-" Angela trailed off as something caught her sweet blue eyes. Ben Cheney. He had obviously finished his drawing because he was sitting in the corner of the room, legs crossed and head propped up by the elbow on his knee. Angela felt her heart thumping and seemingly getting bigger. _This must be what love feels like,_ She thought.Ben had straight, dark hair that was parted at the right side. He obviously didn't like it by the way he always mussed it with his hands. Must've been the work of his mother. He had deep brown eyes, almost to the point of black, and threw them in Angela's direction at that moment. He smiled a little and gave a small wave with his tiny fingers. Angela blushed and smiled, but looked down at the ruffles of her pink dress. _He's so pretty._

Bella noticed her friend's lack of speech and then followed where her line of vision had been. Ben again. Every time that boy was within eight feet of Angela, it was like everything else had shut down. Bella thought it was cute, Ben was nice and Angela had the biggest not-so-terribly-secret crush on him.

"You know," Bella started with her small voice, "I think it would be real nice if you went to read with Ben. He looks kinda sad and alone."

"Bella, I can't! What if he likes to read alone? I don't want to make him mad at me." Angela looked sullen and she played with the strap of her Mary Jane's idly.

"He keeps lookin' over here at you. I think he wants a book buddy." Bella said in return. She knew Angela really wanted to go. Angela looked up and indeed, Ben had peeked his eyes over the top of his book, looking at her.

"Okay, Bella. But if he says no, you owe me a box of crayons." Angela smiled nervously at Bella and rose slowly from her seat. Ever so slowly, she started walking towards Ben, the sound of her tiny shoes seeming louder and louder with each step forward. When she finally reached Ben, she took a deep breath and tapped his shoulder. He looked up, gazing at Angela for a minute. He thought she was as pretty as his mommy, if not more so. Truth was, Ben had a big thing for Angela, as well. He loved her curly brown hair that bounced as she walked and how every time he looked at her, she would giggle and look down. _That's good, right?! _

"H-hi Angela." Ben said, his voice cracking slightly. He didn't know how to function in front of this angel. He didn't even know why she was talking to him.

"Hiya, Ben. Um…it's just…I was thinking…well, I like that book a really lot and I was just wonderin' if I could read it with you?" Angela looked hopeful. She was out on a limb here, a very scary limb for her.

Ben blinked. His mind was numb. _She _wanted to read with _him_? Wowie. He was ecstatic and perhaps responded a little too eagerly to seem cool and collected, like that TV show he saw. The boy was so cool, Ben could never do that, but he was going to try for Angela.

"Sure! Of course! Sit right here, we'll both hold it!" Angela giggled and sat down on Ben's right side. He held the book with his left and she with her right. They read and laughed at the silly parts. They lifted up flaps and felt pictures with textures on them. Ben really liked Angela and took this time to be a manly man. As Angela was giggling about a funny picture, Ben slowly slid his right hand across the floor towards Ange's left one. She gasped and stopped laughing immediately as she felt his fingers just touch the side of her hand. She looked up and saw his nervous and awaiting face staring blankly at the book in front of him. Angela smiled. He was too cute. She moved her hand over to his and put her tiny little fingers in his. Ben let out a breath that he hadn't known he'd been holding and squeezed her hand. It was official. Best. Day. Ever.

Bella smiled widely as she watched the exchange between Ben and Angela. They were adorable. _He'll matter_, Bella thought to herself.

"BELLAAAAA!!!!" Oh gosh. It was Alice. The little black haired girl catapulted into the seat next to Bella and nearly careened over the table.

"Alice, be careful!" Bella chastised. She was always very nervous whenever Alice did something careless.

"Oh, poo, Bella, you're no fun, I'm okay!" Alice responded, righting herself and smoothing out her pretty mint green dress. "But I came over here to ask you if you saw the new boy yet? He's in first grade with , but I was gettin' a drink from that water fountain in the hallway and I saw him and he's real cute, Bella, and I think you'd like him 'cause he looks a little shy, too, and is probably nice, but I still don't know his name, but yeah, that's what I know."

Bella blushed. If Alice said he was cute, he was probably very handsome. Alice had very high standards for a five-year-old.

"I bet he's still out there, Bellsie! Come on, come on, come on!" Alice pulled on the sleeve of Bella's long sleeved purple shirt to get her to move. Bella stumbled out of her chair and followed Alice like a puppy to the door. They both stood on their tiptoes to look out the window on the door. At first, Bella saw nothing, just an empty hallway. Then, Alice feverishly pointed toward the right of the window. "Quick, look, Bella, he's leaving!" Bella turned her head as fast as she could, but the only thing she could see was the back of a bronze haired boy disappearing into a doorway. "Aww, Bellla, you missed him. Oh, well! There's always tomorrow!" Bella shrugged and followed Alice back to the table. She had to admit, though, he had pretty hair.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Have you met the new neighbors yet, Renee?" Charlie Swan asked over the dinner table. He had just gotten home from work, warmly greeted by little Bella wrapping her tiny arms around his leg. He laughed as he had carried her around the foyer, her clutching his leg like a little monkey. Renee just stood by the doorway and laughed lightly, then sighed. She knew something was off with her and Charlie, it just didn't feel like it used to. She still loved him, of course. She always would, but something just wasn't the same. He was the best husband: faithful, honest, loving, a great father. He always treated Bella and herself with nothing but love and care, but still. The love that once pulled at her heartstrings wasn't quite there anymore, and if it was it was fading fast. She loved him, but almost as she would her best friend, platonic with a small attraction that would always be there. Renee sighed and set her gaze on Bella. What a happy child. So shy and reserved, but happy. She had to stay with him for her. If anyone, let it be Bella. Renee clutched at her chest, almost as if something inside was dying, fading. _Give it time, girl_, Renee told herself. _Just give it time._

"Yes, yes I have. Carlisle and Esme Cullen. Beautiful couple, very nice. They have a boy around Bella's age, a year older, I think. I can't think of his name at the moment, but I think it started with an E. Maybe he and Bella will be friends, eh, Bells?" Renee lightly nudged Bella's swinging foot with her own. The little girl blushed and swirled her mashed potatoes around with her fork. Any mention of boys, really, had Bella blushing. It was almost laughable.

"I hasn't seen no boy yet, Mommy." Bella said, her grammar slightly off.

"You _haven't _seen _any_ boy yet, you mean Bella." Charlie said with a slight chuckle.

"That's what I said, silly Daddy." Bella giggled. Charlie laughed and shook his head, as did Renee. The dinner continued without much event, some small chatter about the Cullens and then a splattering of each other's day.

"Well, if everyone's done here I'll just clean up." Renee stood from the square table and grabbed as many plates as she could carry to the sink in one trip, her heels clacking on the tile floor and she scurried towards it. Bella hopped down from her chair and tugged on her father's pant leg.

"Daddy, I wanna go play outside. Will you play with me?" She turned the full force of her deep, doe-like eyes on him, even if it was a subconscious effort. Charlie was sucked in for a moment, but snapped back to reality.

"Maybe layer, baby girl. Daddy has some work to do. Be careful, though. Don't have too much fun, save some for good old dad," Charlie said as he tickled her slightly and gave her a kiss on the crown of her head. Bella giggled and nodded and waited for her dad to open the large, heavy clear door that separated the kitchen from the backyard. As soon as the door was open wide enough for the girl to slip through, she shot out like a rocket, stumbling slightly, but righting herself and spinning in circles on the grass.

Charlie looked on through the door, a small, almost sad smile playing on his lips. What a beautiful baby girl. A beautiful baby girl that deserved two parents, and to be honest, Charlie didn't know how long that would last. He looked over at Renee, humming to herself as she wiped off the dishes and put them in the washer, every once in a while glancing out the window above the sink to check on Bella. She caught Charlie's eye and gave him a small, almost sheepish smile that reminded him of Bella. Shy. Drawn back. Not how she used to be with him. He, too, knew that something was missing. He would fight to make it work, though, as hard as he could. Fight for the love of both of his girls, especially Bella. He would just have to wait it out, this had to be a bad phase, a couple's phase. With a sad sigh, the Chief of Police admitted to himself that no matter what he told himself, he was scared. He couldn't lose this. _Just give it time, boy_, Charlie thought to himself. _Just give it time._

Bella, tired from twirling and then falling soon after, laid on her back in the grass. Her head rush was intense and she waited for the big tree above her head to stop spinning before she got up again. Bella loved just laying in her backyard, though. It was very large, with a stone patio and table set. There was a huge tree in the middle of the yard that Bella liked to read stories with Charlie under. There were garden boxes scattered around the border of the yard and Bella would help her mother plant flowers when the weather permitted. All in all, Bella loved it. Especially her swing set. It was her favorite part of the whole yard. It was simple, made of wood, but it had a curvy red slide and blue swings that she could go super high on. There was a little loft with a rainbow tent that she could spy on her house with using the green telescope attached to the ledge. Her favorite part was the monkey bars, though. Bella would sit on them for hours and just think. She liked to think about everything. It was her place.

Snapping out of her vacant state, she heard the sound of someone almost struggling on the other side of the large, wooden fence. Almost like sneakers climbing up plastic…and then sliding dramatically down with a loud squeal. She heard a loud huff and then someone climbing up what sounded like metal ladder rungs. As soon as bronze hair came into view, Bella knew whom it belonged to. This was the boy Alice was talking about! She watched closely as the boy swung himself onto the top of his monkey bars, facing her. If Bella thought he was pretty before, now he was the most gorgeous thing on the planet. He had a chubby, cherub-like face and unruly hair. He was wearing a green, short-sleeved shirt and long jeans. His sneakers had some type of cartoon character on them, but she couldn't tell by the way he was swinging his legs.

The one thing that stood out to her the most, though, was the color of his eyes. Green. Grass green. Tree green. Emerald green. Shamrock green. Any way you wanted to say it, Bella had never seen prettier eyes. However, something made Bella's heart clench. His beautiful eyes looked so sad. She didn't understand. Bella needed to see him smile, it was some kind of pull for her. She didn't like it when people were sad. She liked to help.

Going out on a limb, she slowly made her way to her swing set and up the stairs. She just had to know the name of the sad, beautiful boy staring at the sky.

**A/N: There's a nice long chapter for you! I hope you liked it. The next one will have Bella and Edward talk, I promise! Please review =] another ten would be great! CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is welcome, don't be mean just for the hell of it. **

**Love, BrunettesHaveMoreFun**


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